Final Record: 39-50
Games Behind First: 9.5 GB
Aramis Ramirez got on his first hot streak of the year as the Cubs finished the trip with a winning record. A sweep of Arizona meant the Cubs only needed one win in LA to make this a winning trip and they got that one win but none more, losing three of four to the Dodgers. The offense woke up in the series, and the Cubs will be winning more ball games if they can swing the bat like they have recently.
The Arizona series had a different feel to it than most of the series this season. It felt like the Cubs were in control and they usually had the lead. Kosuke Fukudome hit a leadoff homer in the 1st, Starlin Castro hit a two-run triple in the 2nd, and Geovany Soto hit an RBI double in the 2nd to put the DBacks down 4-0 early. Arizona made it a tight game at 4-2 and 5-3 but another Soto RBI double and a Mike Fontenot RBI single extended their lead. The blow that put the game out of reach in the 9th was Alfonso Soriano's two-run homer. Tom Gorzelanny was efficient enough for a win. Diamondbacks pitcher Barry Enright made his Chase Field debut starting on Tuesday and began well but faded as the game progressed. With a 1-0 lead in the 6th, he gave up homers to Fukudome (solo) and Ramirez (two-run). A Kelly Johnson homer made it 3-2, but an RBI from Ryan Theriot and another two-run homer by Ramirez made it 6-2. Sean Marshall gave up two to make it interesting but Carlos Marmol shut the door closing it out, striking out all five he faced. Carlos Silva gave up two runs over six innings and earned the win. In a 3-3 game Wednesday night, Starlin Castro hit a two-run single to take the lead in the 5th. Another home run from Ramirez, this time a three-run jack, gave the Cubs a 8-3 lead in the 9th and they never looked back. Ryan Dempster went five and struck out six to earn the win, beating Edwin Jackson who had also knocked in an RBI in this game.
The first game at Dodger Stadium Thursday night was reminiscent of games earlier in the season. James Loney hit an RBI single in the first but Soriano homered in the second to tie it at one. Geovany Soto hit an RBI single and that was all the Cubs could do as Randy Wells was left in the game late once again with a tiny lead. The time bomb went off when All-Star Rafael Furcal mashed a two-run homer down the line in right to completely shift momentum and the lead just like that. Jonathan Broxton picked up the save. Ted Lilly didn't pitch well at all Friday and the Dodgers jumped on him early. After getting a 1-0 lead he gave up a three-run homer to Russell Martin, his first homer in nearly two months. He gave up RBIs to Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Casey Blake, and Andre Ethier again. What seemed like a blowout at 7-2 wasn't as the Cubs came crawling back from a wild pitch, a sac fly, an RBI triple from Ramirez, and an RBI single by the All-Star Marlon Byrd. The Cubs couldn't finish though and lost 9-7. On national TV Saturday, the Cubs put on a show. Soto gulfed a two-run homer in the 2nd and the Cubs put on the offense. Aramis Ramirez hit another homer, his fourth of the trip, in the 7th. John Ely was rocked for six runs over only two and a third innings, his fourth straight bad appearance at Dodger Stadium. Tom Gorzelanny got the win as the Cubs took it 7-3. In the series finale Sunday night on the ESPN, the Cubs were shut out in their last game before the break. Vicente Padilla was on his game and threw eight shutout innings, including not allowing a hit until the 6th when Starlin Castro lined a leadoff double. Ryan Theriot did the same in the next inning but didn't score. The Dodgers jumped on Carlos Silva early, who was using too many breaking balls in this game and needed to get back to his hard sinker. James Loney got a three-run homer in the first off him and the Dodgers got three more in the second. Silva was ejected after Loney was called safe on a play at first base, and by the replay he was clearly out. It was Silva's own fault because he didn't cover first base and Xavier Nady had to race to the bag to get the out. It was the second close play already at first base and although the first one wasn't an out Silva was enraged and yelled in frustration. He was tossed but was going to be taken out anyway by Lou Piniella.
The ESPN crew asked Piniella during a commercial break, a traditional questioning with the manager that takes place on Sunday Night Baseball, what the Cubs need to do to get back in the Central race. "If we swing the bats, we're gonna be okay." That was the line that stood out to me, and the way the Cubs swung those bats in this past week was certainly reason for excitement. If they can do it like that consistently we will have no problem coming back to .500 like the Sox did. With a big ten-game homestand coming up after the All-Star Break, the Cubs will need to score runs to beat the Phillies and Cardinals for sure and to avoid embarrassing losses to Houston. They will also need to improve in one-run games where they are just 11-20. I was really proud of the Cubbies during the Arizona series who showed some real fight. I was impressed by their command of the game and I sense we will see more of this in the second half. If there was ever a team to take out your frustrations on, make it Philly, easily my least favorite team in baseball. Easily. But now, Marlon Byrd heads to Anaheim for the All-Star Game and everyone else goes home. According to a promo, the All-Star Game will be played on the beach right by Santa Monica Pier. It won't really, but wouldn't that be interesting? A sand diamond with the ocean the outfield 'wall'. Ideas for the future....
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